Independent Consultants
The following is a snapshot of our international network of senior consultants.Lois Austin
Lois has worked for more thirteen years in the humanitarian field, predominantly with the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. She has undertaken a broad range of field-based jobs which include managing and providing technical inputs into a varied range of assistance programmes for vulnerable populations in transition situations and in fluctuating and complex environments. Her fieldwork has been undertaken in the Balkans, the north and south Caucasus,Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, Afghanistan and throughout Africa. Her field and headquarters has formed the basis for a solid understanding of humanitarian issues from both policy and operational perspectives. Her work as an independent consultant has included the undertaking of assessments, real time and after action reviews, programme evaluations and the development of operational strategic directions. We worked with Lois on an evaluation of the Tsunami Recovery Programme of the American Red Cross.
Neil Bauman
Neil is an architect and information management (IM) specialist with long experience in humanitarian coordination, particularly the Shelter and WASH clusters, at global and field levels. His primary clients include the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) where he has been actively working with the shelter department since 2005 and the International Rescue Committee (IRC) which is one of the lead agencies for Information management for the WASH Cluster. Neil brings to his clients a thorough understanding of emergency response coordination and how the practices of information management, assessments, and monitoring can complement strategic decision making. We know Neil from our work with the IFRC.
Mariarosaria Cardines
Mariarosaria is a gender adviser, specialized in the design, monitoring and evaluation of gender-related projects and programmes. Her areas of expertise include women’s economic empowerment, labour migration, gender-based violence, particularly trafficking, and public health information. She brings 20 years of professional experience at the headquarters and field offices of several UN agencies (UNIDO, UNIFEM, ILO, WHO) and international NGOs (1% for Development Fund, China-Europa Forum) where she has worked as project manager, evaluator, workshop facilitator, researcher and writer. Her geographical areas of expertise include South and East Asia, West Africa and the Russian Federation. Mariarosaria holds an advanced degree in Asian Studies (international relations and development) from the University of Geneva, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Switzerland).
Jeremy Condor
Jeremy has worked for more than 15 years as an independent consultant and trainer, working with international funding agencies and the non-profit sector, worldwide. His work ranges from delivering advisory services to international NGOs and bilateral funding agencies, organizational strategic planning, program design, monitoring and evaluation, Board development, leadership coaching and team development consultancy and training. His clients have included the BBC World Service Trust, Chemonics, DRC, the European Commission, IRC, SCF, SDC, USAID, and the World Bank. Jeremy brings exceptional value and high energy to his consulting work- we co-facilitated a Hosts and Donors meeting for UNRWA in Jordan in 2009.
Pierre Gassmann
We have worked with Pierre in the ICRC and also with the Harvard Programme on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR). You can take a look at his extensive CV here. He holds an MBA (INSEAD) and an MA of the Graduate Institute for International Relations in Geneva. He worked for ten years in the private sector, and then for 25 years in senior management positions at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), namely as Head of Operations for Eastern Europe. He has served as program advisor and lecturer at the Program for Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR) at Harvard University and at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP). He has been a consultant to the International Labour Office (ILO), the Swiss MFA, the Swiss Agency for Development Cooperation (SDC) and the United Nations Works and Reconstruction Agency (UNWRA).
Sylvie Giossi Caverzasio
Sylvie is an independent consultant with 20 years of professional experience in international affairs. She has particular expertise in policy and research projects, communication and a specialization in protection and human rights work. She edited the publication Strengthening protection in war: a search for professional standards, a reference work that presents the results of four pioneering protection workshops attended by 100 professionals from 50 humanitarian and human rights organizations. She has broad humanitarian experience, in particular with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), both at headquarters level and in the field. Her field experience spans the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus, Africa, Latin America and South Asia. Sylvie has established a rigorous approach in her work she takes on projects where she 'partners' with her clients in the identification of the problem, the analysis of the issue, development of solutions and in proposing decision-making tools to bring about the desired change. This process of accompanying and establishing a partnership with the client is one that the WolfGroup particularly values in Sylvie. Her clients have included governmental and public authorities, United Nations and non governmental organisations. More about Sylvie here.
Nadejda Loumbeva
Nadejda’s expertise is in knowledge sharing and management using information and communication technologies, organisational learning, communities of practice, knowledge networks, electronic communities and facilitation. After having coordinated the implementation of a bank information system at an international bank (UniCredito), she has evaluated and helped to foster knowledge sharing processes and systems at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations. Nadejda holds degrees in Psychology (BSc/University of York), Human-Computer Interaction with Ergonomics (MSc/University College London), Business Administration (MBA/University of Geneva) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CAS/University of Geneva).
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